Monday, January 27, 2014

What will be the next big thing to change transportation forever?

This year will be the “tipping
point” for the Internet and technology, according to Yahoo’s Chief Executive,
Marissa Mayer.During last week’s World
Economic Forum, Mayer said fundamental
things are happening that are changing the way people live and work in ways we
wouldn’t have deemed possible a few years ago.This got us to thinking about
some emerging technologies that you might not expect to change transportation
in the future, but have potential to do so.Check them out.

3D Printing.The
ability to print, customized items quickly, or 3D printing, has the potential
to “monumentally”
change how goods are moved around the world, according the UPS. How?

“A proportion of goods which were previously produced in
China or other Asia markets could be ‘near-sourced’ to North America and
Europe,” according to an excerpt of the report published by smartplanet. “This would reduce shipping and air cargo
volumes.”

Transportation implications:
Eliminating the supply chain between businesses and manufactures would generate
tremendous transportation cost savings for companies. And decreasing the amount
of heavy trucks transporting freight on U.S. highways would help reduce
maintenance costs.But, it would also
reduce revenues if there are fewer trucks paying motor fuel taxes—the main
funding source for transportation infrastructure.

Lending
your car to strangers for cash. More people are utilizing companies
like RelayRides, Getaround and JustShareIt to earn some
extra cash by lending their cars to strangers.These companies create online social networks to connect people in need
of a car with those nearby who aren’t using theirs.These companies offer lower rates than rental
car companies.

Transportation implications:Reducing the cost of renting a car could be
enticing to some people who currently rely on public transit services to get to
where they need to go and thus decrease transit ridership.In the United States, there’s currently one
car per 1.2 people.Imagine if this
trend reduced the amount of vehicles and we actually returned to the days when
there were more licensed drivers than licensed vehicles.This would have revenue implications as
vehicle registration fees make up a significant portion of transportation
funding—12 percent in Kansas.

Drone
Delivery.Amazon made headlines in December
when it announced plans to build a fleet of drones that would be able to
deliver goods to customers’ doors within thirty minutes of when they place
their orders.

Transportation implications:This has the potential to reduce the amount
of trucks on highways and streets, which has pros and cons in terms of transportation
policy.The FAA is currently developing
rules for the use of commercial drones—as there are many safety related issues
with this that would have to be addressed before it could come to fruition.In addition to safety concerns, policy makers
will need to think about privacy concerns of citizens and the legality of
flying drones over private property.